First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. Sells 5,277 Shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile S.A. (NYSE:SQM)

First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. trimmed its holdings in shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile S.A. (NYSE:SQM) by 23.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 16,893 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 5,277 shares during the period. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P.’s holdings in Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile were worth $1,017,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Triumph Capital Management lifted its position in shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile by 11.5% during the fourth quarter. Triumph Capital Management now owns 11,481 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $691,000 after buying an additional 1,187 shares during the last quarter. Chase Investment Counsel Corp boosted its stake in Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile by 29.4% in the fourth quarter. Chase Investment Counsel Corp now owns 16,000 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $963,000 after acquiring an additional 3,640 shares in the last quarter. Anfield Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile by 22.2% in the fourth quarter. Anfield Capital Management LLC now owns 4,123 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $248,000 after purchasing an additional 750 shares during the last quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. increased its position in shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. now owns 9,293 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $564,000 after purchasing an additional 450 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LRT Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile in the 4th quarter worth $237,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 12.41% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SQM has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile from $54.50 to $46.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price objective on shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile from $48.00 to $42.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $52.00 to $62.80 in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Scotiabank lowered their price target on Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile from $80.00 to $70.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 4th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, March 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $65.18.

Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile Trading Up 2.1 %

NYSE SQM opened at $47.68 on Friday. Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile S.A. has a 12 month low of $38.50 and a 12 month high of $81.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.76 and a beta of 1.10. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $47.58 and its two-hundred day moving average is $49.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 2.49 and a quick ratio of 1.74.

Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile (NYSE:SQM) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The basic materials company reported $0.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.22 by ($0.51). Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile had a net margin of 26.95% and a return on equity of 37.86%. The firm had revenue of $1.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.36 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $4.03 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile S.A. will post 4.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 28th. Investors of record on Friday, May 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.2134 per share. This represents a $0.85 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 9th. Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.30%.

Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile Company Profile

Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile SA produces and distributes specialty plant nutrients, iodine derivatives, lithium derivatives, potassium chloride and sulfate, industrial chemicals, and other products and services. The company offers specialty plant nutrients, including potassium nitrate, sodium nitrate, sodium potassium nitrate, specialty blends, and other specialty fertilizers.